A description of a phasing system for roller lifter followers on a camshaft is given by Riley in U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,216, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all that is taught and disclosed therein. A description of means to maintain orientation of a roller lifter used in conjunction with a variable phase lifter is given by Riley in U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,041, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all that is taught and disclosed therein.
As the rotatable element, such as an eccentric sleeve, is rotated to phase the roller lifter follower (hereinafter simply “roller lifter”), the roller lifter orientation must be controlled to allow the roller to follow the cam lobe on the camshaft. In fixed timing systems a simple pin or plate is usually sufficient to prevent the roller lifter from rotating around its longitudinal axis during operation. The arcuate path of the phased roller lifter requires an extra degree of freedom of movement. Therefore additional measures must be taken in order to maintain controlled orientation of the roller lifter.